Home of Compassion
From Dittopedia
(previously known as 'Boyle Farm') (O) |
 The Hon. Charlotte Boyle Walsingham built Boyle Farm in 1786, on the site of the 16th century Forde's Farm belonging to Erasmus Forde. In 1834, it was purchased by Edward Sugden, who went on to become Lord St Leonards when appointed Lord Chancellor. The stable-block, visible from the High Street, was erected in the early 19th century. The chapel was added in 1925. When Herbert Robertson bought the house in 1890, he replaced the Victorian stucco with the present red brick. A tunnel is said to exist beneath the road connecting the house with the former Home Farm, which was situated behind the houses on the western side of the road. |
The Home of Compassion used to be known as Boyle Farm, a mansion on the banks of the River Thames in Thames Ditton, Surrey.
The estate went to auction in July 1890 and was purchased by Herbert Robertson of Hampton Court. Within three years he had the Victorian stucco and external detailing removed, refacing the mansion with a classical pediment of well-laid red brick, with fitted brick window surrounds all under a complex hipped gable roof of green slate. [2]
However the property remained unoccupied and some 11 acres of the grounds were subdivided into building plots and sold. The house and stables, together with the outbuildings, were purchased by a Church of England religious order, renamed and dedicated as the Home of Compassion in 1905. The stables, renamed The Priory, were converted to staff accommodation and the house adapted as a nursing home. The present chapel was built in 1925 of stock brick with stone windows and is still prominent in Thames Ditton High Street. [2]
In the 1960s, the religious order ceased on the death of the last surviving Sister, but the Home of Compassion has continued to care for the frail and elderly as a registered charity run by Trustees, led by Rosalind Goodfellow. [2]
References
- 1. Wikipedia
- 2. Burchett, P. 1984. A Historical Sketch of THAMES DITTON. Surrey: Thames Ditton and Weston Green Residents' Association. ISBN 0-904-81120-4.
